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What Is the Voice of the Child?
The "voice of the child" is the principle that every safeguarding process must genuinely seek, understand, and act on the child's own perspective — their wishes, feelings, lived experience, and view of their own world. It is not enough to include the child's name in a case file; practitioners must actively seek to understand what life is like for that child.
It is grounded in UNCRC Article 12 (the child's right to have their views taken seriously), reinforced by domestic law (Children Act 1989, s.1 — the child's welfare is the paramount consideration, which requires understanding the child's own view), and made explicit in every version of Working Together since 2013. WT2026 goes furthest yet in requiring the child's voice to be central and not incidental.
Statutory Basis — WT2026 & KCSIE 2025
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026:
"The wishes and feelings of the child must be at the heart of safeguarding activity. Practitioners must speak with children directly and create space for them to share their lived experience, wishes, and feelings. Children must not be rendered invisible by a focus on parental or adult accounts."
Working Together 2026, Chapter 1 — Key Principles
Children Act 1989 requirements
- s.1(3)(a): Courts and social workers must have regard to the "ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned" when deciding what is in their best interests
- s.17 assessments: Any Child and Family Assessment must include direct work with the child to establish their perspective
- s.47 enquiries: The child must be seen — ideally alone — as part of the s.47 enquiry
- Care proceedings: Children are entitled to separate legal representation in court; their views are central to any order made
KCSIE 2025 requirements for schools
- ✓ DSLs must be trained in direct work with children, including age-appropriate communication techniques
- ✓ All safeguarding records must include the child's direct voice where possible — not just practitioner observations
- ✓ Staff should be trained to create safe spaces for children to share concerns
- ✓ The PSHE curriculum should include lessons on children's rights, including the right to be heard
- ✓ Children looked after (CLA/LAC) must have their views documented at every review
The "Invisible Child" Problem
The term "invisible child" describes the well-documented phenomenon in serious case reviews and LCSPRs where the child at the centre of the concern is never seen alone, never directly consulted, and never heard — while professionals interact primarily with parents, carers, or siblings. The child becomes a name on a form rather than a person with a perspective.
Victoria Climbié — the defining case
The 2003 Laming inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié found that despite multiple contacts with agencies, Victoria was never seen alone and never asked about her experiences. Professionals spoke to and about her great-aunt (who was abusing her) while Victoria remained invisible. Lord Laming wrote: "The suffering and death of Victoria was a gross failure of the system."
Lord Laming, The Victoria Climbié Inquiry, 2003. Emphasis added.
Children are not seen at all
Home visits where the child stays in another room, or CP conferences where the child is not mentioned as a person with a view — only as a subject of adult concern.
Children are seen but not heard
A child is present in a meeting but never spoken to directly, or practitioners write "child appeared well" without speaking to the child at all.
Children are heard but not believed
A child discloses harm but practitioners accept a parental explanation over the child's account — particularly in cases of emotional abuse, neglect, or fabricated illness.
Children are heard but not recorded
A practitioner has a meaningful conversation with a child but does not record the child's actual words — only a summary of "no concerns raised," losing the child's voice in the process.
Hearing the Child in Different Contexts
Home Visits
Practice requirements
- ✓ See the child alone — even briefly — on every visit
- ✓ See all children in the household, not just the referred child
- ✓ Look at the child's bedroom / sleeping arrangements
- ✓ Ask the child open questions about their day, home life, school
- ✓ Observe the interaction between child and carer
- ✓ Record the child's exact words, not just your impression
Watch out for:
- ● Carer "translating" or answering for the child
- ● Child glancing at carer before answering
- ● Child unable to name a trusted adult or anyone they could tell
- ● Child coached with answers — responses sound adult, scripted
- ● Child showing fear, distress or hyper-vigilance
Child Protection Conferences (ICPC & Review)
Good practice
- ✓ Where appropriate for age, invite the child to attend part of the conference
- ✓ Where the child cannot attend, include a written or drawn contribution
- ✓ The social worker should meet the child before the conference to explain what will happen and gather their views
- ✓ The chair must specifically address the child's wishes and feelings in the conference discussion
- ✓ The conference record must include a section on the child's voice
Age guidance
- Under 5: Does not attend, but observations of the child's presentation, play, and interaction should be recorded and shared
- 5–10: May contribute via drawing, letter, or a supported conversation with the social worker
- 11+: Should normally be invited and supported to attend if they wish; should not be in the room when professionals discuss details they would find distressing
School Settings
Schools are uniquely placed
- ✓ Schools see children five days a week — practitioners have more access than any other agency
- ✓ Teachers often know children better than any professional — use that relationship
- ✓ Trusted adults in school (form tutor, SENCO, nurture worker) can facilitate meaningful conversations
- ✓ Pupil voice in PSHE and school council activities builds the habit of children being heard
- ✓ The DSL should maintain a brief "voice record" for children on the safeguarding register
Key DSL prompt questions
- "When did I last speak directly with this child?"
- "What is recorded from their perspective, in their words?"
- "Does the child know they can talk to me?"
- "Do they have a trusted adult in school who isn't the DSL?"
- "Has the child ever been given feedback about what happened after they told someone something?"
Looked After Children (LAC) Reviews
Looked after children are among the most likely to experience the "invisible child" problem — their voices can be lost in the bureaucracy of reviews, care plans, and inter-agency processes. The Children Act 1989 and the IRO (Independent Reviewing Officer) Handbook are explicit: the child's views must drive the review.
Statutory requirements
- ✓ IRO must meet the child before every review
- ✓ Child's wishes and feelings must be documented in the care plan
- ✓ Child's views on placement, school, contact, and future must be recorded
- ✓ Child must be given information about the review and what it means for them, in accessible language
- ✓ Children aged 12+ should normally receive a copy of their care plan
Advocacy entitlement
Children aged 4+ subject to care proceedings, or who make representations about their care, are entitled to an independent advocate under s.26A Children Act 1989. Many looked after children are unaware of this right — practitioners should ensure they know it exists.
Early Help Assessments (EHA) & TAC Meetings
Early help assessments (EHAs) are consent-based — families are partners. But in practice the "family voice" often becomes the parental voice, and the child's perspective is either assumed or ignored. Best practice requires the child to have their own conversation, separate from parents, as part of the EHA process.
- ✓ Ask the child directly: "What would you like to be different about your life?"
- ✓ Include the child's contributions in the EHA document separately from parental views
- ✓ At TAC meetings, ensure someone is specifically responsible for representing the child's perspective
- ✓ Where appropriate, older children can attend part of a TAC meeting — particularly if outcomes affect their daily life
Practical Methods for Hearing the Child
Not every child can express their views verbally — especially in formal or unfamiliar settings. Practitioners should use a range of methods appropriate to the child's age, communication style, and level of trust.
💬 Verbal methods
- Open questions: "What's the best thing about being at home? What's the hardest?" — not "Are things OK?"
- "Three wishes": "If you could wish for three things to be different, what would they be?"
- A typical day: "Can you tell me what a normal morning is like for you?" — helps identify daily reality without leading
- Safety scaling: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how safe do you feel at home?" — useful for older children; creates space for disclosure
- Walking the house: "Can you show me your bedroom / where you do your homework?" — gives context and may reveal concerns
✎ Non-verbal methods
- Drawing: "Can you draw your family / your home?" — analysis focuses on who is included, how, and who is absent
- The Three Houses tool: House of Worries, House of Good Things, House of Dreams — widely used in child welfare assessments
- Emotion cards: Cards showing emotions; ask "which of these cards shows how you feel about home / school?"
- Stories and play: For younger children, facilitated play or storytelling can reveal experiences words cannot yet express
- Written contributions: Older children may prefer to write (or type) rather than speak — email, letter, or statement format
Barriers to Hearing the Child
Child-side barriers
- ● Loyalty to parents — unwilling to say anything negative
- ● Fear of consequences — being moved, parents getting in trouble
- ● Shame or embarrassment about home circumstances
- ● Mistrust of professionals based on previous experience
- ● Language barriers — EAL, communication difficulties, young age
- ● Trauma-related communication difficulties (dissociation, emotional shutdown)
- ● Having been coached or threatened by the perpetrator
Practitioner-side barriers
- ● Time pressure — no opportunity for an unhurried conversation
- ● Skill or confidence gap — unsure how to talk to children
- ● Assumptions — "they're too young to have a view"
- ● Focusing on the adult / parent in the room
- ● Fear of upsetting the child or reopening trauma
- ● Belief that a non-disclosure is the same as no concern
- ● Recording habits — writing summaries rather than verbatim quotes
Very Young Children & Non-Verbal Communication
Very young children — including babies and toddlers — cannot articulate their experiences verbally. But they communicate constantly through behaviour, presentation, and interaction. Practitioners must be trained to "listen" to very young children through non-verbal observation.
What to observe in very young children:
- ✓ How the child responds to the primary carer's presence and absence
- ✓ Whether the child seeks comfort from the carer when distressed
- ✓ Whether the child is alert and responsive or flat and disengaged
- ✓ Carer's response to the child — do they respond to cues?
- ✓ Physical presentation — weight, skin, hygiene, clothing
- ✓ Whether the child makes eye contact and reaches for interaction
- ✓ Feeding behaviours and sleep patterns (from carer report)
- ✓ Developmental milestones — is the child reaching them?
Children with SEND
Children with special educational needs and disabilities are at significantly elevated risk of abuse, and their voices are among the most frequently lost in safeguarding processes. Communication difficulties must not be treated as an insurmountable barrier — they require a different, more skilled approach.
Adaptations for different needs
- Non-verbal / AAC users: Work with the child's speech and language therapist; use the child's communication system, not your own words
- Autistic children: Use concrete, literal questions; avoid idiom; allow longer processing time; familiar environments and trusted adults are essential
- Learning disabilities: Use visual supports, easy-read materials, simple language; involve an advocate where possible
- Deaf children: Use a qualified sign language interpreter — not a family member; BSL is a full language, not a translation of English
- EAL children: Use a qualified interpreter, never a sibling or parent; be alert to cultural norms around disclosure
Critical principle
A child's inability to communicate in standard verbal form is not the same as having nothing to communicate. Children with complex communication needs are telling us things through behaviour, self-harm, eating, sleep, and interaction — practitioners must be skilled in reading these signals.
Commissioning a communication assessment (through SALT or an AAAC specialist) may be necessary before a meaningful safeguarding assessment can be completed.
Recording the Child's Voice
Recording the child's voice is as important as hearing it. If it is not written down, it did not happen — and the child becomes invisible in their own case file. Records must capture what the child said, how they said it, and what it means for their welfare.
✗ Poor recording
"Child seen. No concerns. Appeared happy."
- Doesn't tell us how long the child was seen
- Doesn't tell us if the child was seen alone
- Doesn't record what the child said
- Doesn't capture the child's experience
- "Happy" is the practitioner's assessment, not the child's words
✓ Strong recording
"I spent 15 minutes with Anya (age 8) alone in the kitchen. She was initially quiet but became more talkative. She said: 'I don't like it when Mum shouts — it scares me.' When I asked who she talks to when she's worried, she said 'no one, because Mum gets upset.' She appeared tired. She had a minor bruise on her right forearm which she said happened at school."
This captures: time, alone, the child's exact words, her emotional state, and a physical observation — all in the child's frame of reference.
Recording principles
- ✓ Record in the child's exact words, using quotation marks
- ✓ Note the context — who was present, where, for how long
- ✓ Distinguish between what the child said and what you observed
- ✓ Note how the child presented — affect, behaviour, body language
- ✓ Record what you did in response to what the child said
- ✓ Note if the child could not be seen alone — and why
Who to Call
Related Resources
Key Statutory References